Why it’s good to major in engineering.

A biologist, a engineer and mathematician vacation in Britain. They see a black sheep off in the distance.

The biologist says, “Ah! So the sheep in Britain are black!”

The engineer says, “No. At least one kind of sheep in Britain is black.”

The mathematician says, “No. There is at least one sheep in Britain that is black on one side.”

Okay, so I realize that this joke is not the funniest joke ever, but bear with me here. It’s serving a purpose. There is a happy medium between making decisions based on a generalization of an informed observation (the pure scientist) and coming to conclusions by applying nitpicky detailed theory (the mathematician). That happy medium is engineering, where the awareness of a big theoretical picture is used to guide real-word decisions. See why I had to use a joke to say that?

The reason I bring this up is because I had a test in a biology class the other day and just got my grade back. The class is dual-level in the biology department, and I’m the only engineer taking it (and why am I taking it? I’m going to med school, which is a story that I will save for another blog post). I ended up doing well on the test in comparison to my classmates, which surprised me because biology majors are terrific at memorizing facts, while engineers are… a little lacking in that area. Another handicap: I have never taken an upper-level bio class before.

So what does this have to do with why anyone should major in engineering? Well, the obvious first answer is that you get some of the coolest jobs out there (see Rachel E’s post). But what if, like me, you end up not pursuing a career in engineering? In my humble opinion, five years of engineering classes and co-op jobs will prepare an individual extremely well for a wide variety of careers, some of them not even science-based. The reason to major in engineering can be answer in two words (or three if you don’t count the hyphen): problem-solving skills. Whatever you (or I) (or Rachel E) end up doing, your education will be terrifically relevant. It does not, however, guarantee that you’ll be able to tell good jokes.

Summer Co-op

It is midterm week here at UC which only serves as a reminder of how much I wish I was on co-op. Sure school is fun. I enjoy broadening my horizon and collecting information. However, nothing can compete with the utter bliss of being on co-op. Now maybe co-op is so exciting for me because of the place I work (NASA Johnson Space Center), or maybe its the awesome opportunities I have to meet people who have influenced the history of NASA (thanks to the co-op Lecture series), or maybe it’s the sheer pride I feel working on a team of actual engineers and being treated like an equal. I can’t decide (admit it, they are all pretty good reasons). But I can tell you that working on the Portable Life Support System (PLSS) of the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) space suit this summer is gonna be one for the books.

I am very much looking forward to the opportunity to help analyze and possibly redesign a few of the components used to keep astronauts alive and safe during space walks. I will be running tests, collecting data, and offering input on the design. This opportunity to work with other NASA engineers as a peer is going to be great.

Now that I’m cheered up by the thought of co-op, I can return to the harsh reality of life and get back to homework. Countdown to co-op: T – 7 weeks!